How They Were Led to Christ
Chapter 7
To conclude the presentation of proof of the principles introduced in this book, we look, in this chapter, at one more facet of evidence presented in the New Testament.
I'm sure that for some, even after considering the difficulties in understanding the prophecies presented in previous chapters, there may still be a feeling that there were, indeed, souls that were led to Christ through them. There are many references in the New Testament to prophecies referring to Christ, and the circumstances of some of these at first do appear to confirm that prophecies were correctly understood and that they did lead people to Him. Thoughtful reflection on these verses, however, demonstrates otherwise.
The verse that first caught my attention and decided me to include a chapter dedicated to considering these circumstances was the following:
Philip findeth Nathanael, and saith unto him, We have found him, of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets, did write, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.
John 1:45
Here we see a reference to two things: (1) someone finding Jesus, and (2) a reference to the sacred scripture referring to Him. One might assume from this verse of John that the two are related - that it was the scripture that caused Philip to recognize Christ. If we consider carefully the words of John, however, we see that there is really no evidence to support this initial impression. Such an impression must come from us making assumptions.
If it is through the scriptures that Philip came to believe, then what is the scripture? and what did he hear or see through which he witnessed its fulfillment? Neither John, nor any other book in the New Testament provides answers to these questions. For us to allow ourselves to think that Philip was led by scripture to believe in Christ, we would have to assume certain things that simply are not in scripture.
How Philip actually did find Christ is found in the scriptures. John states:
The day following Jesus would go forth into Galilee, and findeth Philip, and saith unto him, Follow me.
John 1:43
It seems that it was Christ who found Philip, and not Philip who found Christ. Given this knowledge, however, there are still questions that must be answered: Why did Philip follow Him? How did he attain to the gift of faith? What made him know Who it was who addressed him? Was it scripture? Was it Christ's love? Was it His divine authority? What was it that touched the mind and heart of Philip? This, John does not say.
One might say that there may be other evidence that would suggest, not directly, but possibly indirectly, that Philip was led to Christ through the scriptures. Did the other early believers influence Philip? Might not they have reasoned with Philip? Can we find, if we look closely into the scriptures, something to suggest this? I certainly cannot.
John does mention in this context certain other disciples that were led to believe in Christ. He gives a trail of how the message that Jesus was the Christ was transmitted to His followers. Here is what his words reveal: Some were told that He was the Christ by those who already believed. But how had the first believers come to believe? Those who already believed had been told that Jesus was the Christ by John who referred to Jesus as the "Lamb of God"[1]. Well, how did John know that Jesus was the Christ? He had a vision in which he "saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it abode upon him"[2]. And how did he know that this signified that Jesus was He that was to come after him? He was told by God that "Upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending, and remaining on him, the same is he which baptizeth with the Holy Ghost."[3]
Although John's words do not give us a clue as to how Philip came to believe in Christ, we do know from them that Philip must have been familiar with the prophecies of Moses, and that he believed that Jesus was the One Whom Moses referred to. Having attained to this belief, having found the Object of the scriptures, the way was then opened for Philip to understand all the scriptures referring to Him. It would be reasonable to assume that from then on, Philip's approach to understanding the Messianic Prophecies would not be one of interpreting them and looking for their fulfillment, but rather would be simply to understand how they were fulfilled in Jesus. This approach to the understanding prophecy, I submit, is the one intended by God.
When I began this chapter, I had a vague feeling that there were actually many such instances in the New Testament in which prophecies were referred to in a way that could be viewed as implying that they were the cause of people believing in Christ. Upon study of the New Testament, however, it became clear that this initial vague feeling was not correct. A careful look at the New Testament reveals the startling fact that there are not hundreds, not even dozens, but only two other instances, besides the one mentioned above, in which it appears that prophecies may have led people to find and believe in the Christ.
Of course, you do not need to take my word on this matter. I encourage you to read through the entire the New Testament and search for yourself. To do justice to the subject, it must be considered as a whole. And when and if you do make such a search through the New Testament, I ask you to consider, were the people led to Him by prophecy, or were they led by His humility, His majesty, by His healing powers, by His words and example, by dreams, by visions, or angels.
Following are the two other instances in the New Testament that at first may seem to indicate that scriptures led to belief in Christ:
Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea
Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men[4] from the east to Jerusalem,
Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him.
When Herod the king had heard these things, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.
And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he demanded of them where Christ should be born.
And they said unto him, In Bethlehem of Judaea: for thus it is written by the prophet,
And thou Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, art not the least among the princes of Juda: for out of thee shall come a Governor, that shall rule my people Israel.
Then Herod, when he had privily called the wise men, inquired of them diligently what time the star appeared.
And he sent them to Bethlehem, and said, Go and search diligently for the young child; and when ye have found him, bring me word again, that I may come and worship him also.
When they had heard the king, they departed; and, lo, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was.
When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy.
And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh.
Matthew 2:1-11
To many, these words of Matthew indicate that it was common knowledge where the Christ would be born. At first glance, then, it seems that the Bethlehem prophecy was indeed understood, and that as we can see here, it did lead people to the Christ.
Let's look closely, however, at how the Magi were led to Christ. First of all, they had somehow come to believe that the king of the Jews had been born. We are not told how they had come to this belief, but we do know that they somehow had knowledge of this. Had one of the wise men had a dream? Were they visited by an angel or the holy ghost? We do not know. And how were they inspired to know that the star that appeared in the East had anything to do with His birth? The New Testament does not say.
Furthermore, not only did they believe that He had been born, but they knew of His exalted station. They had come not merely to visit Him; nor to pay their respects: no, they had come to worship Him. They knew that He was divine. They had set out from their homes, traveling for a sacred purpose, and were so certain that they would find Him that they had prepared themselves for their expected meeting to the extent that they were carrying with them precious gifts to lay before Him. They had no doubt that they would find Him.
These three men, in such extraordinary circumstances, possibly led by the star that had appeared, arrived in Jerusalem.
Now, consider, all this took place before the wise men had any knowledge of any prophecy referring to Bethlehem. So, was the cause of their belief in Him, the words of this prophecy? Hardly. Their belief was based on other things about which the New Testament says nothing.
The question does arise, of course, "Well, maybe they knew He had been born and that He was King, but didn't they still have to find Him? Could they have found the place of His birth without the prophecy?" Well certainly, they didn't know that the Christ was to be born in Bethlehem until after they had been told. We know this because they asked of the place of His birth. This seems to indicate the prophecy was necessary to their finding the Christ.
But, consider also, how did they actually find the Christ? Did they "Go and search diligently for the young child"? No. It was the star that led them to the precise location of the Savior's birth. Unless you feel that the star also required to be pointed in the direction of Bethlehem by the chief priests, the guidance of the chief priests had little to do with their journey. This seems to indicate that something other than the scriptures led them to find the Christ. If not for the star, if they had simply gone to Bethlehem without its help, could they have found Him? Could they have found Him by asking people, "Where is he that is born King of the Jews?"
It's quite interesting to me that one could imagine that the Bethlehem prophecy could have led people to find Christ in the first place. I personally don't understand how this could be, even if one could have been sure that they had properly understood this prophecy.
Imagine someone searching for the Christ by this prophecy? What, for example, could they have done to find Him once they had arrived in Bethlehem? Could they have asked people where the "king" was? Could they have searched for all the newborn children and asked the parents regarding the circumstances of the birth? Could they have interviewed the townspeople to see if there was anything unusual at all of recent report, and by this try to find the child? I suppose this is possible, but was this what was intended by God? What would have happened if after their search, they had found nothing unusual about the recent births, and instead had merely caused the people, the government, and the religious leaders to think strangely of them? What would you, yourself, have done if you had searched Bethlehem and found nothing?
Found nothing?
Now, I'm sure some readers considering what I have written above may question my line of reasoning. They may be thinking that surely, if one had searched earnestly enough, he or she would have come upon the holy family. After all, Bethlehem, could not have been that big a place, and with effort and the help of God, and given the holy circumstances of the birth, He surely would have been found. Those who come to this conclusion, however, have allowed themselves quite a convenient assumption. And by this assumption they have removed, without basis, a dimension of life that would have complicated immensely the seeker’s search. They have focused on an outcome and then shaped their "picture" to produce that outcome. But what they have done, is also nothing more than what we all do when we consider the past - and this by reason of our not having immediate access to the details of what we are trying to understand – we narrow the possibilities, simplify the circumstances, and generously whittle away at reality to fit into our own preconceived image.
The assumption is this: that the one searching for the Christ had arrived in Bethlehem at precisely the proper time. But how could one have known what the proper time was, and that he or she was living at that time? How could anyone searching for Christ have been sure that they hadn't arrived in Bethlehem eighty five years late? Or three hundred years early? The prophecy was given centuries before His Coming, and it gave no clue about the time it was to be fulfilled.
If the Bethlehem prophecy was indeed intended to lead the faithful to Christ, had God intended that they were to have settled in Bethlehem and spent the rest of their lives making their “inquiries”? Did God intend that they go to Bethlehem and wait? And after years, or generations, of not finding Him, then what? Wouldn't they possibly have felt that God would have to reveal the "ruler in Israel" in His own time?
To me, it is clear that it would simply take much more than this prophecy to find the Christ. All those who worshipped Jesus at the nativity - His parents, the shepherds, the Magi - were given some kind of special blessing to be allowed to recognize Him. In the case of the Magi, we know that they were somehow in communication with God on a higher than normal level: God had led them to the knowledge of His Son's birth and greatness, had guided them by a star, and when they had completed their holy mission, we know that they were warned by God in a dream not to return to Herod.
Of course, we all have our own understanding of these events. I personally don't feel that the Bethlehem prophecy can take credit for the Magis' belief in and finding of the Christ. You may. If you do, then certainly you must consider this an outstanding instance of the power of prophecy and an exception to certain assertions that I make in this book. In any case, however, if this is an exception, as far as I can see, it is the only exception, for it is certain, that although the Magi may have been led by this prophecy, none of the Jewish people were led to Christ by way of this or any other prophecy.
To me, the incident of the Magi, signifies a divine invitation to the people of Jerusalem to seek out their Lord. If you'll forgive my paraphrasing, basically, the Magi came and said "We know that your king is born, somewhere. Tell us where." The Magi announced His Coming.
Tragically, no one responded to this invitation.
And many of the people believed on Him
And many of the people believed on him, and said, When Christ cometh, will he do more miracles than these which this man hath done?
The Pharisees heard that the people murmured such things concerning him; and the Pharisees and the chief priests sent officers to take him.
Then said Jesus unto them, Yet a little while am I with you, and then I go unto him that sent me.
Ye shall seek me, and shall not find me: and where I am, thither ye cannot come.
Then said the Jews among themselves, Whither will he go, that we shall not find him? will he go unto the dispersed among the Gentiles, and teach the Gentiles?
What manner of saying is this that he said, Ye shall seek me, and shall not find me: and where I am, thither ye cannot come?
In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink.
He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.
(But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.)
Many of the people therefore, when they heard this saying, said, Of a truth this is the Prophet.
Others said, This is the Christ. But some said, Shall Christ come out of Galilee?
Hath not the scripture said, That Christ cometh of the seed of David, and out of the town of Bethlehem, where David was?
So there was a division among the people because of him.
And some of them would have taken him; but no man laid hands on him.
Then came the officers to the chief priests and Pharisees; and they said unto them, Why have ye not brought him?
The officers answered, Never man spake like this man.
Then answered them the Pharisees, Are ye also deceived?
Have any of the rulers or of the Pharisees believed on him?
But this people who knoweth not the law are cursed.
Nicodemus saith unto them, (he that came to Jesus by night, being one of them,)
Doth our law judge any man, before it hear him, and know what he doeth?
They answered and said unto him, Art thou also of Galilee? Search, and look: for out of Galilee ariseth no prophet.
And every man went unto his own house.
John 7:31-53
These verses of John make clear that it was correctly assumed by the people of Christ's time that His birthplace would be Bethlehem. No doubt this thinking had been given them by the Pharisees who appear to boldly assert the same. At first glance then, to some it may appear that this prophecy did indeed lead people to the Christ. There was a division among the people; some believed, and some didn't. Some recognized Him as the Christ, while others questioned His fulfilling the prophecies.
Upon thoughtful examination of these verses, however, it becomes clear that there is not only no real evidence that anyone in the situation described above was led to the Christ by the prophecy of Bethlehem, but it actually shows that the prophecy was a barrier to belief in Him.
There is a subtle but important difference between, on the one hand, knowing the meaning of a prophecy beforehand and thereby using it to seek out the Christ, and, on the other hand, realizing that the Christ has come, and then going back and considering the prophecies that He was supposed to have fulfilled. The former is, according to my understanding, quite an unlikely possibility. The latter, however, represents the interaction intended by God between prophecies and man.
In the above verses that John has recorded, it is quite clear that no one in that situation was led to believe that Jesus was the Christ because they believed that the Christ would come from Bethlehem. These verses offer additional confirmation that everyone who believed in Him must have had some other reason for believing than prophecy. How do we know this? We know this because John makes it clear that the people assumed that Jesus was from Galilee. To paraphrase, the people said: “Is the Christ to come from Galilee? But our understanding is that He should come from Bethlehem.”
For the people of Christ's time, then, the prophecy of Bethlehem would be more of an obstacle than an aid in finding the Christ. If someone were looking for a ruler from Bethlehem, they would not have found Him. In the minds of the people, Jesus was Jesus of Nazareth, a Galilean, the leader of the sect of the Nazarenes. Jesus Himself said "I am Jesus of Nazareth"[5]. There is no mention of Jesus of Bethlehem in the Bible. In fact, after the story of Christ's birth, that is the last we hear of any association of Jesus with Bethlehem. It is possible, of course, that during Christ's ministry, it may have been explained to some that Jesus was indeed born in Bethlehem, and that this may have confirmed some in their belief in Him. There is, however, nothing in the New Testament to suggest this.
Although it appears that none were led to Christ through the Bethlehem prophecy, a question still remains regarding the understanding of this prophecy, namely: Was it correctly understood before it was fulfilled? The Bible clearly shows that it was - half of it, that is. The religious leaders did correctly understand the part of this prophecy referring to Bethlehem. But does understanding part of a prophecy mean anything? Should they have been trusted to interpret the other half, the one referring to “ruler in Israel”? Did they really know what they were talking about, or were they guessing? If the answer to this question does not seem clear to you, then let’s try asking another, more-to-the-point question: Should the people have followed the interpretation of the religious leaders, or not?
To really understand the meaning of a prophecy requires some divine confirmation, as in the case of the prophecies we now understand regarding the First Coming of Christ. As far as I can understand, there is essentially no difference between not understanding the true meaning of a prophecy, and understanding the true meaning, but having no way of confirming it.
If the Pharisees had sought with humility from Christ Himself, the answer to their questions, they could have attained unto true understanding of the scriptures. But the New Testament reveals the fact that they essentially did not have any questions. "Search, and look: for out of Galilee ariseth no prophet", is not a question, and it betrays an attitude whose sole object is opposition. Having essentially no questions regarding Christ, they could receive no answers, and they were therefore, unable to attain salvation.
The people, however, had questions: "Hath not the scriptures said, That Christ cometh of the seed of David, and out of the town of Bethlehem, where David was?" They also had an interesting dilemma: where to find answers. Here the seeker had to decide whether to ask the religious leaders who had denounced the Person in question, or the Person in question who had denounced the religious leaders.
Of course, the religious leaders, having assumed that they correctly understood the prophecies (and this being their first, fundamental, and most grievous error) would have said that when He comes, there will be no questions: He will be a ruler, will save us from oppression, will promulgate the same glorious teachings which we now have, and will exalt us over other peoples. O, for the glory of that day!
They thought they knew it all.
The fact that none were led to Christ through prophecies, does not mean that the prophecies did not influence the people of Christ's time. They certainly did. They did not, however, influence everyone in the same way. To those who disbelieved, the prophecies were a barrier; to those who believed, divine confirmation.
One of the most fascinating aspects of the coming of Christ, and one which is the subject of the following chapter, is that those who rejected Him, expected that He was to be their savior, that God had promised the One who would love them, help them, guide them, protect them. In their hearts and minds they knew that He should be all these things. And the truth is, He was, but only to those who believed.